Abiotic and biotic stress factors, including drought, salinity, waterlog, temperature extremes, mineral nutrients, heavy metals, plant diseases, nematodes, viruses, and diseases, adversely affect growth as well as yield of crop plants worldwide. Plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPM) are receiving increasing attention from agronomists and environmentalists as candidates to develop an effective, eco-friendly, and sustainable alternative to conventional agricultural (e.g., chemical fertilizers and pesticide) and remediation (e.g., chelators-enhanced phytoremediation) methods employed to deal with climate change-induced stresses. Recent studies have shown that plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), rhizobia, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), cyanobacteria have great potentials in the management of various agricultural and environmental problems. This book provides current research of biofertilizers and the role of microorganisms in plant health, with specific emphasis on the mitigating strategies to combat plant stresses.

Advanced Microbial Technology for Sustainable Agriculture and Environment focuses on plant-microbe interactions in respect to bioremediation and plant growth promotion, providing insights on diverse approaches such as genomics, metagenomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and other high-throughput analyses of environmentally relevant microorganisms. The impact of frequent applications of potentially toxic chemicals (pesticides and fertilizers) and increased industrialization processes on microbial diversity emphasizes the potential threat to microbial biodiversity in ecosystems. This is an ideal resource on current trends and the future of PGPR developments with bioremediation potential.Moreover, it gives a deep understanding of the genetics of microbial biodegradation and different remediation mechanisms that help to re-establish the natural environment. - Helps readers find sustainable ways for environmental clean-up and increased agricultural productivity - Gives a systematic overview of the role of PGPR in bioremediation, selection and preparation of potential PGPR microbial inoculum for bioremediation, biodegradation and plant growth promotion - Illustrates the importance of PGPR in the bioremediation of potentially hazardous and relatively novel compounds with the maintenance of sustainable agricultural productivity - Addresses emerging novel approaches of PGPR-based biodegradation of toxic compounds and highlights key developments and challenges associated with the processes

Phyto-pathogens are one of the dominating components which badly affect crop production. In light of the global food demand, sustainable agricultural plans utilizing agrochemicals became necessary. The role of beneficial microbes in the defense priming of host plants has been well documented. This book details new aspects of microbial-assisted plant protection and their role in agricultural production, economy, and environmental sustainability.

Attaining sustainable agricultural production while preserving environmental quality, agro-ecosystem functions and biodiversity represents a major challenge for current agricultural practices; further, the traditional use of chemical inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, nutrients etc.) poses serious threats to crop productivity, soil fertility and the nutritional value of farm produce. Given these risks, managing pests and diseases, maintaining agro-ecosystem health, and avoiding health issues for humans and animals have now become key priorities. The use of PGPR as biofertilizers, plant growth promoters, biopesticides, and soil and plant health managers has attracted considerable attention among researchers, agriculturists, farmers, policymakers and consumers alike. Using PGPR as bioinoculants can help meet the expected demand for global agricultural productivity to feed the world’s booming population, which is predicted to reach roughly 9 billion by 2050. However, to provide effective bioinoculants, PGPR strains must be safe for the environment, offer considerable plant growth promotion and biocontrol potential, be compatible with useful soil rhizobacteria, and be able to withstand various biotic and abiotic stresses. Accordingly, the book also highlights the need for better strains of PGPR to complement increasing agro-productivity.

Engineered Nanomaterials for Sustainable Agricultural Production, Soil Improvement and Stress Management highlights the latest advances in applying this important technology within agriculture sectors for sustainable growth, production and protection. The book explores various smart engineered nanomaterials which are now being used as an important tool for improving growth and productivity of crops facing abiotic stresses, improving the health of the soil in which those crops are growing, and addressing stresses once the plant begins to produce food yield. The book includes insights into the use of nanoparticles as bactericides, fungicides and nanofertilizers. In addition, the book includes an international representation of authors who have crafted chapters with clarity, reviewing up-to-date literature with lucid illustrations. It will be an important resource for researchers, nanobiotechnologists, agriculturists and horticulturists who need a comprehensive reference guide. Broadens the role of smart engineered (carbon, fullerene or metal based, and more) nanomaterials, with up-to-date literature and practical illustrations Equips readers with information on a number of morpho-physiological, biochemical, molecular phenomenon, and smart agricultural production Enriches our understanding of various smart crop plants resilient to abiotic and biotic stresses in terms of nanomaterials exposure

Global climate change is bound to create a number of abiotic and biotic stresses in the environment, which would affect the overall growth and productivity of plants. Like other living beings, plants have the ability to protect themselves by evolving various mechanisms against stresses, despite being sessile in nature. They manage to withstand extremes of temperature, drought, flooding, salinity, heavy metals, atmospheric pollution, toxic chemicals and a variety of living organisms, especially viruses, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, insects and arachnids and weeds. Incidence of abiotic stresses may alter the plant-pest interactions by enhancing susceptibility of plants to pathogenic organisms. These interactions often change plant response to abiotic stresses. Plant growth regulators modulate plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses, and regulate their growth and developmental cascades. A number of physiological and molecular processes that act together in a complex regulatory network, further manage these responses. Crosstalk between autophagy and hormones also occurs to develop tolerance in plants towards multiple abiotic stresses. Similarly, biostimulants, in combination with correct agronomic practices, have shown beneficial effects on plant metabolism due to the hormonal activity that stimulates different metabolic pathways. At the same time, they reduce the use of agrochemicals and impart tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress. Further, the use of bio- and nano-fertilizers seem to hold promise to improve the nutrient use efficiency and hence the plant yield under stressful environments. It has also been shown that the seed priming agents impart stress tolerance. Additionally, tolerance or resistance to stress may also be induced by using specific chemical compounds such as polyamines, proline, glycine betaine, hydrogen sulfide, silicon, β-aminobutyric acid, γ-aminobutyric acid and so on. This book discusses the advances in plant performance under stressful conditions. It should be very useful to graduate students, researchers, and scientists in the fields of botanical science, crop science, agriculture, horticulture, ecological and environmental science.

Biostimulants (a diverse class of compounds including substances or microorganisms) are helpful in sustainable plants growth and development. They accelerate plant growth, yield, and chemical composition even under unfavorable conditions. The main biostimulants are nitrogen-containing compounds, humic materials, some specific compounds released by microbes, plants, and animals, various seaweed extracts, bio-based nanomaterials, phosphite, silicon, and so on. Additionally, new generation products and bioproducts are being developed for sustainable plant growth and protection. Some research works in the area of biotechnology and nanobiotechnology have shown improved sustainable plant growth and production. The protective roles of biostimulants are varied depends on the compound and plant species. Exposure of biostimulants have shown accelerated plants growth and developmental processes for instance, manage stomatal conductance and rate of transpiration, and increase rate of photosynthesis etc. They also increased crop plants immune systems against the adverse situation. Thus, use of innovations of new generation biostimulants also enhance plant production systems, through a significant reduction of synthetic chemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers. Moreover, bioinoculants commercial products obtained from seaweed extract, humic acids, amino acids, fulvic acids, and some microbial inoculants have shown their potential role in adventitious root induction in plants. Microbial inoculants or microbial-based biostimulants, as a promising and eco-friendly technology, can be widely used to address environmental concerns and fulfill the need for developing sustainable or modern agriculture practices. They have great potential to elicit plant tolerance to various climate change-related stresses and thus enhance plant growth and overall performance-related features. However, for successful implementation biostimulants-based agriculture in the field under changing climate conditions, an understanding of plant functions and biostimulants interaction or action mechanisms coping with various abiotic as well as biotic stresses at the physicochemical, metabolic, and molecular levels is required. Mycorrhizae are beneficial fungi that form symbiotic associations with plants and aid in plant development, disease resistance, and soil health is well established. Similarly, phyllospheric microbiome are known to possess different plant growth promotion attributes like nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, biocontrol activity, and increase plant resistance towards abiotic stresses. The plant growth promotion traits possessed by these phyllospheric microbiota can be judiciously harbored for phyllospheric and rhizospheric engineering. The engineered phyllospheric and rhizospheric microbiome can increase the plant growth and productivity, thereby, can act as a driving force for increasing the agricultural production in a sustainable manner. Taken together, this book aims to contribute to the recent understanding associated with the various role and application of biostimulants on different plant for their sustainable growth and management. - Discusses our current understanding of, and advances in, biostimulants, along with their application in plants growth performance and overall management - Explores new techniques, new generation products, and bioproducts - Highlights the role of seaweed extract, humic acids, protein hydrolysates, amino acids, melatonin, paramylon, fulvic acids, microbial inoculants (phyllospheric and rhizospheric), and more

Essential Minerals in Plant-Soil Systems: Coordination, Signaling and Interaction Under Adverse Conditions is the first book to encompass these key aspects of plant science, biochemistry, soil science and fertilizer development in a single volume. Describing the micro- and macronutrients in the plant-soil system with the help of suitable illustrations, the book connects all the pieces enabling comprehensive and connected understanding. Terrestrial plants are sessile in nature. They face various adverse environmental conditions including soil nutrient-deficiency signals, which influence overall plant growth and development. Some of the essential nutrients are unreachable to roots due to their low solubility and relative immobilization. Thus, the soil-plant system has evolved signaling, communication and coordination responses for survival under multiple adverse situations. By evolving highly sophisticated mechanisms at the cellular as well as whole-plant scale, these plants have developed ways to co-regulate these stresses in order to maintain homeostasis. Essential Minerals in Plant-Soil Systems covers recent advances in the understanding of how plants coordinate the acquisition, transport, signaling, and interaction, cross-talks between macro- and micro-nutrients in adverse environmental situations. These points are key to understanding the significance of essential, as well as beneficial, elements for sustainable plant growth and production. This book is a valuable reference for those putting research into practice in addressing stress situations, as well as providing important foundational insights for further research. - Provides a comprehensive overview of micro- and macronutrients and their interaction with phytohormones under stress conditions - Explores proteomic and genomic research into deficiencies and toxicities in plant systems - Highlights the use of nanobiotechnology for controlled release of micro- and macronutrients in the plant-soil systems

This book looks at the interaction between plants and nanomaterials/nanocomposites, and their effects ecology, the food chain and human health. It focuses on nanomaterials/nanocomposites phytotoxicity, which is an important precondition to promote the application of nanotechnology and to avoid the potential ecological risks. It describes the influencing factors of nanotoxicity of nanomaterials and the mechanisms of these toxic effects and defense mechanisms in plants. The chapters in this book are written by internationally renowned researchers and professionals and provides exciting and remarkable information (on the above-mentioned topics) to the scientist, researcher and student working field of plant biology, agricultural science, nanobiotechnology, plant biochemistry, plant physiology, plant biotechnology and many other interdisciplinary subjects.

This book examines the role of human microbiome in human health and diseases. The initial chapters present tools for genetic manipulation of gut microbiota and the therapeutic applications of engineered microbiota. They discuss the interaction between human microbiota and host in defining the prominent role of microbes in the development and progression of major human diseases. The book also summarizes the current applications and trends for the development, production and analytical characterization of recombinant therapeutic proteins in microbial systems. It also reviews the role of microbes in the production of vaccines and antibiotics. Further, the book presents bacterial products, including proteins, enzymes, immunotoxins and secondary metabolites, that target cancer cells and cause tumour regression. The chapters also discuss the critical role of gut microbiota dysbiosis in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease and in bowel-related diseases. Towards the end, the book explores the role of intestinal microbiota in metabolic health and the pathogenesis of common metabolic disorders. It presents state-of-the-art insights into important aspects of United Nations—Sustainable Developmental Goal 3.